Work Text:
Pete had been watching the guy at the bar for about an hour. He’d just downed five Vodka’s (straight) in the last thirty minutes. That couldn’t be healthy. He’d had his fair share of bad nights, but at least he did them in private. At least he didn’t risk drunk driving or something stupid like that.
Pete decided that if the guy, who was obviously smashed, got up to leave, that he’d follow him out and give him a ride home.
How long has he even been at this? Pete thought to himself.
He’d seen him when he walked in, already drowning in the amount of alcohol he’d ingested. Pete knew that the bartenders were suppose to cut you off when they thought you’d had enough, they’d done it to him, so why weren’t they doing it for the guy at the bar? It was obvious that they needed to.
Just then, there was a small altercation going on at the bar. It looked like the bartender thought that the man he just reached his limit.
“Fine!” The intoxicated male shouted.
He leaned off the barstool and swayed a little when his feet landed on the ground.
That was Pete’s que.
He quickly stood, throwing some money down on the table and following his target out of the bar.
Icy air burned his cheeks as the wind whipped around and he took a few cautious steps towards the man who’d just left. He was leaning against the driver side door and fiddling with what looked like a key ring.
“Hey!” Pete called.
The man looked up and he almost choked.
“Mikey?” He questioned.
Tilting his head up as if to get a better look at the approaching human, Mikey responded with, “Maybe. Who’s asking?”
“I-It’s me. It’s Pete. Pete-”
“Wentz. I remember you.” He laughed bitterly. “How could I forget?”
Disregarding the chilly tone to his voice, Pete offered him a ride home. And in all honesty, even if his ex had rejected the offer, he was too drunk to drive and Pete would’ve done it anyway.
“Sure. Why not.” Mikey slurred, following Pete to his car and shoving his keys back into his front pocket.
It had been so long since they’d been in this proximity of each other. Breathing the same air, being in the same confined space was something Pete, and maybe Mikey, thought would never happen again. Things with them had just ended much too abruptly that neither ever offered an explanation- or spoke again.
Pete turned a corner and then it hit him. He had absolutely no idea where the man in the passenger seat lived.
“Mikey.” He called into his windshield.
No reply.
“Mikey.” He stressed the name a little harder in an attempt to break through the others alcohol clouded mind.
The urgency in his voice was met with yet again another silence.
When the car stopped at the first red light, Pete took the moment to glance over at Mikey. The guy was passed out. There was no sign of consciousness which worried the driver.
He reached his arm over and shook the youngest Way brother until he stirred.
“Mmmmpphh.” He grumbled against the car seat.
“Mikey, I’m being serious. I- I don’t know where you live. Can you tell me where your house is?”
Mikey shook his head, eyes still closed.
“Fuck, Uh, okay. Can I take you home with me- I mean, bring you to my house and you can stay there for tonight?”
A very matter of fact nod was given as consent.
So Pete, although slightly worried about how this would affect those living with Mikey, made his way home.
With the bassist still much shorter than his other half, watching Pete struggle up to his front door with an intoxicated Way hanging over his shoulders might’ve been comical if the situation had been different.
He somehow managed to unlock the door without his knees buckling under him, dropping his keys, or dropping his Mikey.
“Congrats, Pete,” He mumbled to himself bitterly when he’d laid the dirty blonde haired man on his couch. “You wanted him back,” He moved the others feet and sat under them, letting heavy boots fall into his lap. “You got him.”
It hurt to see the kid like this. Mikey used to be able to do this sorta thing in moderation, at least, that’s what Pete remembered. The more he pondered, however, the less believable that statement became. Maybe he was always like this, just better at hiding it in the commotion of being young, in love, and on tour.
His chocolate eyes were glued to Mikey’s delicate features. The youngest Way had been graced with a version of his older brother's lips, only his were more red versus Gerard’s pink tinted ones, but their nose was the same shape, eyes could be the same if more blue was thrown into Mikey’s iris’.
“Pete?” He sighed, his face pressed into the pillow making his voice muffled.
“I’m here.”
“I can stay here?”
“Of course.”
“Goodnight, then.” He mumbled.
Pete focused on the boots in his lap and untied them, wiggling the shoes off and dropping them, forgotten, to the edge of the couch. He made the decision to sleep on the couch as a foot rest, just to make sure that Mikey didn’t try anything stupid in the night.
Sure, that’s why he did it.
In reality, though he’d never admit it out loud, Pete just wanted the chance to sleep close like they used to. It been so long since he’d breathed in other man, since he reached around and rested a hand over the lanky boy’s heart- that was the only way he could fall asleep that whole summer.
A blanket was resting on the back of the couch and Pete unfolded it, spreading it over the younger man. He fell asleep to the sound of the soft snores emitting from Mikey, which he’d missed so much
Pete was the first one to wake up in the morning. No surprise there. Out of the two of them, he was always the last to sleep and first to wake up. He took this opportunity to make himself a cup of coffee.
On his way to the kitchen, he located a few tablets of advil and placed them on the table in front of Mikey for when he himself woke up.
Maybe the smell of what used to be their morning routine tore the other male from his hungover slumber, because he was edging into the kitchen with a blanket over his head.
“You got anything to take with these?” He questioned, the two pills between his top and bottom row of teeth.
“Want some coffee?”
“God, that’d be great. Uh, two-”
“Sugars and one cream.” He had just finished dumping two packets of sugar in and was now adding the cream. He turned and slid the mug over the counter to Mikey. “Yeah. I know.”
“You remembered?”
“I spent three months waking up and making us coffee, Mikes. How could I ever forget?”
The question was met with an awkward silence as Mikey positioned himself at the bar stool, letting his drink hover near his mouth.
“I miss you so much.” The older of the two whispered, the sound barely audible.
“Fuck, Pete!” He cried, slamming the cup down.
Pete looked up with startled expression. “If you’re pissed at me that’s fine! But don’t take it out on my mug, okay? Bronx painted it.”
Mikey shot him an apologetic look before going into an explanation about his sudden outburst. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry. It’s just- you have had every opportunity to call me and say that. You- You came to Gee’s birthday party, for fuck’s sake! Why didn’t you tell me then? It would’ve saved us so much time. I wouldn’t have spent nights upon nights wondering if you missed me, too!”
“You miss me?”
“More than-” He glanced down. “More than words can even begin to describe, Pete.”
“If I’d known-”
“It’s fine.” His short lived anger was depleting by faster than it had appeared. “ I- I can’t blame you for everything… I could’ve said something to you.”
The brunette inched closer to the man on the bar stool, cautiously, he put his arms around his waist and head on his shoulder. Mikey pushed into the touch.
It was a dangerous situation. With both of them so close to spilling their feelings out in the open when they simply looked at each other, hugging was definitely hazardous. But for a second, they both seemed to forget that.
“I love you. I still love you.” Mikey let slip with his lips pressed into a mop of brunette hair.
Pete hugged tighter. “I swear, I’ve never stopped.”
“You should’ve just called.”
“You have a fucking family, Mikey. I can’t ruin that.”
Mikey pulled away, hands cupping the others cheeks as he peered, unblinking, into the others eyes. “You’re my fucking family! I love you more than I thought would ever be possible. Yes, we were young and dumb as hell when we were together, but I’ll be damned if that wasn’t the happiest I’ve been. I’ll be damned if I didn’t fall completely, utterly, and shamelessly in love with you.”
Pete found it impossible to look away from the hazel stars that were trained on him. His breathing was ragged, heart pumping faster than his mind which was racing. He couldn’t help what he did next.
Without hesitation, their lips connected. At first, it seemed like Mikey wasn’t going to reciprocate, but then his head grasped the concept of their mouths attached and pushed back hard. It was sloppy, and needy, and full of desperation that has nothing but build up over the years. Their teeth clinked together and ripped small holes open at the seams of their lips and if they hadn’t been so caught up in the moment, it might have hurt.
Pete yanked away, breathless and head spinning due to the lack of oxygen. A small smile rippled across his features